I am a young woman diagnosed with Stage IV Melanoma Cancer... and here is where I would like to tell my story!
I am in hope that this blog will not only allow me to share my trials and tribulations with being a cancer warrior but also help spread Skin Cancer Awareness!!
If only I knew what I now know today...

Monday, April 23, 2012

MOTIVATION!

For the last three weeks I have been walking/jogging almost every day and I honestly have never felt better(well besides the past two days but more on that in a minute).
There is this awesome trail that I found along the park near my house and it has truly become my favorite place to exercise. Surprisingly, it is even something I actually look forward to and enjoy doing. I come home from work relax for a little bit, wait until it is after 5pm(when the sun is not so strong), get on my sneakers, my ipod, and a bottle of water and off I go. This trail is not only a serene treelined spot, but it is also a place stock full of motivation. Every day I see people young and old walking, running, biking, etc. up and down this path; all with the intension of being a bit more healthier. Nobody is competing or all fancied up, like I sometimes see at the gym, they are just out there doing their own thing at their own pace. For instance, there is this older gentlemen that I see out there almost everyday running with such ease; seeing him out there is such a motivator... maybe one day I will be able to run this path like he does so gracefully. Though right now I am still on the speed walking, slight jog, but I know at this point it is the best I can do and I am proud of myself for doing it!

There is, however, a downside to this place that I have become so fond of escaping off to. It is only available "weather permitting". The weather in NY the last few weeks has been gorgeous, not too hot and not too cold and limited rain(except for the last two days), but this will not be the case for too much longer because summers here get very hot. And me and the hot sun just don't get along. Not just because I have Melanoma, I was always a person who did not do well in the sun. As I use to say I "overheat" very quickly. SO I am hoping to take full advantage of this for as long as I can : )

So like I said these past few weeks has been the best I have felt, energy wise, in over a year. Though, these last two days my body has been out of commission. This seems to happen to me every so often; my body just shuts down on me. I am not sure if it is treatment related or my whacked out immune system but when it hits me it hits hard. I woke up Sunday and could barely lift my head off the pillow and today was the same. Severe joint aches, chills, extreme exhaustion, no appetite. I actually just started feeling a little better but still very fatigue and achy. I am hoping that I will feel a lot better tomorrow because I DO NOT want to take another day off of work. It really upsets me when I have to take off of work, those little kiddies are what keeps me going some days and I have just never been one to call out of work, though I know I need to listen to my body and when it needs rest and sleep it sure makes me aware of it!!

BUT despite the weather and my sucky immune system.. I am not giving up on my getting fit routine! In the word of Lance Armstrong..

Like Lance and so many Cancer Warriors, "Quitting" is not in our vocabulary!!!!

I have a couple of warrior friends who need extra prayers this week, so if you can please keep Nick, Jennifer, and Miranda in your thoughts and prayers. They are all true warriors in every sense of the word. Thanks for reading.. <3